Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1078040 in Books
• Published on: 2008-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 254 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Vargas, a longtime corporate and community consultant, approaches social activism with high ideals, a positive viewpoint and, most helpfully, a practical and gratifying plan of action, based in his personal experience and cultural heritage. The "Familia Approach" treats activism not as a solo enterprise but as "a way of living so as to teach love and activate the positive power of our families and communities." Vargas unpacks the Mexican idea of familia and finds enfolded within its notion of the extended family-"everyone you care for and who cares for you"-the American passion for social activism. Each chapter expands on this idea, including reflection questions and bullet-point "practices," with much insight into Vargas's own family and Latino culture in general (both modern and ancient). Though not religious, Vargas is "spiritual," and does consider prayer and indigenous religious practices (like unity circles) important and powerful. Equally important, however, is real human understanding, for which he introduces the surprisingly complex concept of conocimento-conversation meant to deepen participants' knowledge of each other. Vargas's text, full of new agisms like "transformation," "energy" and "synergy," will strike some readers as redundant, but those ready to share in Vargas's passion will find much to learn.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Back Cover

Social Change Begins at Home

We live in a world that needs radical transformation if our children and grandchildren are to live healthy, peace-filled lives. But where to start?

Activist Roberto Vargas says the answer lies surprisingly close: at home, with our family and friends. We can apply the practice of family activism to foster what he calls familia--warm, loving connections with our relatives and with those we choose to call family--and develop the skills and attitudes we need to tackle broader problems in our community, our nation, and the world. In Family Activism, Vargas draws from his own life to show how to apply tools such as copowering communication, family councils, and unity circles to create family and community cultures that empower all of us to become more committed and skillful agents of positive change.

"By sharing parts of his personal journey Roberto Vargas provides us with important facilitation tools and insights that we can all use to create more caring, compassionate, and engaged families and communities."
--Danny Glover, activist and actor

"Roberto Vargas's path of family engagement will save lives and help families to know true `family values,' which start with love and support at home and spread to community involvement and social change."
--Don Hazen, Executive Editor, AlterNet

"The communication, ceremony, and facilitation tools that Roberto Vargas shares can make us all more loving family members and better activists and leaders within any of our organizations and communities."
--Akaya Windwood, President and CEO, Rockwood Leadership Program

About the Author

Roberto Vargas is principal consultant for New World Associates. His clients have included colleges, corporations, public institutions, Native American reservations, and over 150 agencies and organizations dedicated to community service.

Customer Reviews

A must read for creating a heathly and engaged family
Have you ever struggled to find a way to make family gatherings meaningful, nurturing and inspiring? Read this book and you will struggle no longer!!!

Family Activism is perhaps one of the best books I have ever read that provides strategies, tool and proven methodolgies for creating healthy and engaged families. The power of the talking stick is one wonderful tool for creating powerful and authentic conversations for birthday celebrations, weddings, baptisms, graduations and other venues where you bring family members togethers in a meaningful and inspiring way.

I also enjoyed learning more about how the process for creating great families can be used in the corporate and public sectors. I was inspired to learn how Dr. Vargas has taken these tools to many corporate environments and has introduced a mechanism to help leaders engage their teams in powerful ways. Dr. Vargas also shared how the tools of family activism can generate authentic, honest and real sharing which leads to greater familiarity, trust, unity and eventually greater results.

I believe this is a must read for anyone interested in investing in a nurturing family, a great community and engaging great teams. What a treasure and again a must read if we are to create a better world, beginning with family and friends!

If you want to deepen the trust and respect in your family, buy this book.
As an activist, my passion is to improve the quality of life for our communities and strengthen our diverse democracy. This requires a lifetime of work and one needs a strong support structure to face new challenges each day. This book's premise is that positive social change also begins with one's family and close relationships. Creating a healthy family circle enriches ourselves and further propels us to live out our purpose. The author provides simple tools and perspectives that if implemented, can create safe family dialogues that validate our different opinions and honor each other. I can see myself using some of these tools, such as establishing a family council with my mom, uncle and grandfather. I will also buy my good friend, who is a new dad in Oakland, a copy for his new family.

Solid manual for parents who want their children to become positive beacons for the future.
The world leaders of tomorrow first gain their morals and beliefs in their homes. "Family Activism: Empowering Your Community, Beginning With Family and Friends" is a guide for creating a better world through a better environment at home. Focusing not only on the values and virtue of the home, but also on the invaluable abilities that people pick up at home such as communication skills and more, "Family Activism" is a solid manual for parents who want their children to become positive beacons for the future.